The Variegated Landscape of Local Immigration Policies in the United States

TLDR

Hundreds of municipalities and counties across the United States have proposed or implemented immigration policies at the local level, ranging from “sanctuary” policies to those designed to exclude undocumented immigrants. The study collects municipal‑level policy data and performs statistical analysis, complemented by textual analysis of policy documents, to interrogate existing hypotheses about factors driving these policy decisions. Municipalities with rapid foreign‑born growth and high owner‑occupied housing are more likely to adopt exclusionary policies, whereas those with better educated populations tend toward inclusionary policies, and exclusionary policies are also more common in the U.S. South and outside central cities, reflecting contrasting local imaginaries of race, nation, and place.

Abstract

Hundreds of municipalities and counties across the United States have proposed or implemented immigration policies at the local level, ranging from "sanctuary" policies to those designed to exclude undocumented immigrants. Data collected on these policies are presented, and statistically analyzed at the municipal level to interrogate existing hypotheses about factors driving these policy decisions. Municipalities experiencing rapid growth of their foreign-born population and with a high percentage of owner-occupied housing are more likely to introduce exclusionary policies, whereas municipalities with better educated populations are more likely to adopt inclusionary policies. The location of municipalities in the U.S. South and outside central cities is also associated with exclusionary policies. Textual analysis of policy documents for selected municipalities provides insight into why similarly located places adopt contrasting policies. Local ordinances reflect contrasting local imaginaries of race, nation, and place.